You don’t need loads of cream to make a Creamy Zucchini Soup because the natural texture of cooked zucchini blends into a thick, silky soup. This is a bowl of goodness to warm your soul, it’s ultra tasty and yet only 220 calories for a big bowl, or 98 calories if you skip the cream!
Have you voted, have you voted?! Voted for the next free eCookbook, that is! I was just going to make one and surprise you with it, but it seemed silly to go to that effort without at least asking for your input. 🙂 Here’s the poll again – it’s the same as the one in the Sausage Pasta from Monday when I launched the poll so there’s no need to vote again…. but no one is stopping you!
Voting is open until the end of this week, then I’ll announce the winning theme then get on with making it. When it is ready, it will be emailed to everyone on my email list. It’s free, 100%, no strings attached, it’s a thank you for reading. ❤️
Now – let’s talk SOUP.
Specifically, Creamy Zucchini Soup. A HEALTHY one. I haven’t deliberately made this healthy, this is simply the way I make Cream of Zucchini Soup. And in fact, there’s a good glug of cream stirred into the soup at the end. Which you can afford to do because even with the cream, it’s only got 220 calories per serving – for a big generous bowl.
And without the cream, it’s only got 98 calories a serving. Crazy, huh? And you know, yes I’m an advocate for adding a splash of cream into the soup (or butter!), but even without, this is a really ultra tasty soup.
Let’s take a good look at the star of this recipe. Zucchini. LOTS of it. 1 kg / 2 lb to be exact.
Once cooked until soft, zucchinis whizz up into a silky, smooth, thick soup. No roux, no potato, no cornflour, no thickeners required. The cream stirred in at the end isn’t for thickening, it’s for flavour.
See how thick it is?
There I am going on and on about how healthy this soup is, then I show you a photo of me dunking a butter slathered piece of toast into the soup with my little Chipolata-Sausage-like-fingers. (Though speaking of Chipolatas, they would be terrific in the Sausage Pasta I shared on Monday! 😂)
This recipe makes a pretty big pot of this soup. In fact, it will serve 5 comfortably, or 4 with big appetites. I always make a gigantic pot because a) it freezes well; and b) this is my “go to” recipe when I load up on bargain zucchinis. I picked up 1 kg / 2 lb for a mere $1.99 from Harris Farms last week and had basic homemade vegetable broth made from offcuts so in all honesty, this entire recipe probably cost me $4 to make.
Enjoy! – Nagi x
PS Little tip for a basic “mash up” homemade vegetable broth – I don’t have a composter or chooks (that’s “chickens” in Aussie speak) so what I do is shove all veggie offcuts in large plastic bags and store them in the fridge. For a 4 litre/ 4 quart pot, I put in 6 cups of water then jam pack it (and I mean press it down good) with veggie scraps & sad floppy herbs, a quartered onion, 3 garlic cloves minced, big pinch of pepper and 2 bay leaves. Simmer away for 40 minutes – 1 hour lid off, reducing it right until I have 3 cups of liquid (strained, squeeze out liquid from veggies. Pretty much everything goes into the offcuts bag, even onion skins, dirty potato skin, the dirt coated roots of things, even corn cobs after I cut the corn off. If you have lots of dirt coated things in your stock, just let it settle then pour off the top, avoiding the bits at the bottom.
You don’t need loads of cream or even a roux to make a creamy zucchini soup. The natural texture of the zucchini flesh whizzes up beautifully to be a silky, creamy texture. It’s well worth the extra few minutes to saute onions until golden for the extra flavour it adds. Topping the soup with a pinch of parmesan is a great finishing touch, otherwise try croutons, finely sliced basil or other herb.
- 1 tbsp olive oil or butter
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 large onion , chopped (brown, yellow or white)
- 1 kg / 2 lb zucchinis , cut into 1.5cm / 3/5” slices, larger ones halved (Note 1)
- 3 cups / 750 ml vegetable or chicken broth , preferably salt reduced
- 1 cup / 250 ml water
- 3/4 cup / 185 ml cream, heavy / thickened (or light or add a good knob of butter instead) (Note 2)
- 1 cup / 250 ml milk , any fat %, or more cream
- Cream , for swirling
- Finely shredded parmesan
-
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and onions, and cook for 3 - 4 minutes until they are light golden brown.
-
Add zucchinis, broth and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium. Optional: Scoop brown foam (scum) off surface every now and then.
-
Cook for 15 - 20 minutes or until zucchini is very soft.
-
Use a stick blender to whizz until smooth. (Note 1 for blender)
-
Stir through cream and milk. Add salt and pepper to taste.
-
Ladle into bowls, swirl over a touch of cream if desired, a pinch of shredded parmesan, and more pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.
1. Known as Courguettes in the UK and some parts of Europe. You will need about 6 medium ones (about 20cm/8" long, 4cm / 1.5" wide), or 8 small ones, or 4 - 5 large ones.
2. The cream adds a touch of richness to an otherwise very healthy soup. Feel free to use a low fat cream if you prefer, or creme fraise or mascarpone. Or even a good knob of butter!
3. BLENDER: To use a blender, you must cool slightly before whizzing otherwise the heat will expand, the lid will blow off and you’ll get soup EVERYWHERE – trust me, I’ve made this mistake and it will even get on the ceiling! Whizz in 2 or 3 batches then return to pot.
4. Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 serving. Excludes cream garnishes, bread etc. If the cream is omitted from the recipe, it reduces to 98 calories per serving.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Healthy Creamy Zucchini Soup recipe video. Dozer fans – don’t miss his cameo at the end of the video! I gasped out loud with disapproval…..
LIFE OF DOZER
It’s really hard to concentrate on my computer when that face is shoved in front of me like that.
I’m pretty sure it’s not my tea he’s after, it’s the Shortbread. 😉
SaveSave
SaveSave
My zucchinis were bitter – I didn’t even know that was possible. I was just about to add the milk and cream when I tasted the soup and it was inedible 🙁
How odd! I didn’t know that was possible either! 😢
Have made this soup several times in the last few months-it is so easy and tastes great especially when it is topped with grated parmesan-I don’t add too much cream to keep it super healthy
I’m so glad you enjoyed this Kim! Thanks for letting me know – N x
Loved this! I only used 100ml of British double cream cos of its higher fat content. It was such a lovely, thick, creamy soup.
Really tasty soup! We managed to get 6 servings from the recipe and will definitely make it again.
Great to hear K! Thank you very much for leaving a review – N x ❤️
Oh that looks amazing. It has reminded me just how much I love zucchini soup. I’ve just found your website and everything looks amazing!! I think I’ll make this first.
Thanks for the compliment Rachel! I hope you love this one – I make it often!! N x
The soup is so simple and delicious! Thank you for this recipe and my 6 yo and 3 yo even had seconds 🙂
I’m so pleased to hear that Mary! Thanks for sharing your feedback! N x 😊
This was so good! (and so cheap to make!!) I added some thyme and ginger from reading the comments… also added some spinach as I had half a bag in the fridge that was going bad. Didn’t have cream or milk, so I just ended up putting about 1/2 a cup of half and half in it and it was plenty creamy.
I’m so pleased to hear you enjoyed this Sam! Thanks for letting me know! N x ❤️
Great recipe! Didn’t have heavy cream, so I used a fourth cup of marscapone. Delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this Eileen! Thank you for letting me know – N x ❤️
Another winner! I made this last night exactly as the recipes states. My husband and I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for all your wonderful recipes and the GREAT way you explain them. Your stories are fun to read are your notes are always so helpful. Thank you so so so much for sharing your talents- we get to benefit from that!
Fantastic to hear Jenny! Thank you for leaving a review. N x ❤️
Nagi I think I’m making everything!! This was so nice. 😍😍
I LOVE hearing that! 😂
Another fabulous recipe!! I made a couple of changes based on my fridge :). I had some left over brown rice and roasted vegetables from last nights dinner (your recipe) so I added them in just after the zucchini and onion were cooked. I did not use the milk or heavy cream BUT I did add a 7oz container of Fage plain Greek yogurt at the end with just a splash of hot sauce!!!!!!!
Yum, fabulous,amazing……..did I say YUM!?!?!?!
I’m excited about your new Cookbook BUT we follow a low sodium diet and find that a lot of the ingredients in Asian Take Out are high in sodium. Do you have any substitution ideas???
Hi Linda! So pleased you enjoyed this! Regarding Asian and sodium levels, my tip is to always buy low sodium soy sauce, increase the cornstarch in sauce mixtures by 1/2 tsp and reduce the soy sauce by 1/3 or so. That way the sauce thickens more, intensifying flavour, compensating for reduced soy sauce and less salt. I will add tips like this into the cookbook! 🙂 N xx
Thank you!!!!
I made this today…it was delicious. I added some Ginger at end as someone suggested and it added extra depth. I also added a little creme fresh and parmesan cheese to my bowl…but as you said Nagi, without cream or milk, it was still delicious and HEALTHY. Definitely, a keeper…thanks
Whoot! So pleased to hear that Lyn, thanks for taking the time to leave a review! N xx
Lovely, delicious soup! Thank you Nagi 😋
Just added milk per recipe. As suggested, cream optional – I found it wasn’t needed, was rich enough without the cream.
Thank you for the review Dee, it’s so terrific to hear you enjoyed this! N xx
Hi, Great we added spring onions when cooking, reasonable amount of thyme, butter, and about a teaspoon of fresh ginger just before the end.
We love it.
Thank you Ronald! So pleased to hear you enjoyed it! N xx
Hi Nagi,
Am wondering if you will post some receipes for the weber q barbaque, we have just purchased one and having trouble adjusting to it, as your receipes are so easy to follow I suddenly thought, Nagi could solve this, 😊😊
Just love your receipes.
Gosh yes I have loads! have you checked out my BBQ collection in my Recipe Index???
YOU MUST BE A SAINT OR A MIND READER,
IVE BEEN PONDERING WHAT TYPE OF SOUP , OPEN MY EMAIL AND THERE WAS TIS HEAVEN SENT RECIPE. MY FRIG IS JUST STUFFED WITH ZUCCHINIS. NEVER THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR A CREAM OF SOUP. THANKS AGAIN
It’s a SIGN! 😂
Creamy and beautiful and I can’t believe how low in calories it is. Outstanding recipe Nagi – and a must make in our house 🙂
Zucchinis whizz up so smooth, they are amazing! 🙂 N x
Nagi,
Have you ever considered roasting 1/2 the zucchini & onions, while boiling the other half of the veggies…adding in the roasted ones just before you are ready to blend? There is nothi g better than the flavor of roasted veg!
Just a thiught!
I haven’t thought of that – but YUM what an idea! 🙂 N x
This year I’ve played around with lots of new zuchinni recipes but you know what? Haven’t made a Zuk Soup, will have to fix that bad boy up soon.
They are SO CHEAP at the moment, you’ve gotta try this! 🙂 N xx
Wow this looks great! Seems like Asian at home is gonna win but I voted “other” and I think that other should be a soup book! You have so many good ones and it’d be nice to have them all together Asian and western style. Any recommendations on zucchini because sometimes they have that bitter taste and I love soup but I dunno if I’d want a pot of bitter soup.
SOUP BOOK! Love it 🙂 I really don’t notice any trace of bitterness at all! Do you know if you sometimes use a special variety of zucchinis?? 🙂 N xx